Laid down in San Francisco, California, in 1898 and first commissioned in 1902 as USS Wyoming, the monitor initially underwent trials and exercises off the West Coast. Steaming south, she protected American citizens and interests during the Colombian civil war. Out of commission from 1905 to 1908, Wyoming returned to service to partake in a major experiment. She was refitted with oil-burning equipment and renamed Cheyenne. Her success was a breakthrough for the U.S. Navy because oil was a much more effective fuel than coal. Read more »